Category: TEMPTATIONS

I’m not sure why people think that destruction is a way to be heard. Frustration, perhaps – but a better thing to do when you are frustrated is to pray. It goes back to putting prayer in its rightful place – first place. Make prayer your first resource instead of your last resort! Will prayer make a difference? I believe it does! Will it change anything? Yes, it will. Prayer is an act of faith and trust in Almighty God. It says you know without a doubt that God is in control and will see you through the difficult times.

It’s wrong to destroy property in an effort to retaliate against the status quo. Fight the temptation to join in on such violence and vandalism. When you’re frustrated, pray for God to intervene as only He can. Trust in His answers in His perfect timing. They won’t come in your time – but His. I understand the feeling that maybe God is running late… but the longer we live with Him walking by our side, the more we understand that God is not late – He is always right on time – never early, but His timing is perfect – always!

Keep loving and praying instead of fighting and fretting. This is how to find the peace in your heart that God wants for you. He loves you so much! There was a song back in my day that I dearly loved. A lot of my Christian friends in high school liked it too. God bless PAUL DAVIS! Turn it up – here’s DO RIGHT. 🙂

Only God knows why we have to endure injustice in this wicked world – but we need to trust Him instead of being part of a growing problem – it has caused division, sadly. God wants all people of all races to be kind and love Him. Take a look at this poem by Lucinda Berry Hill:

Whether the advice is DO RIGHT from Paul Davis, or DON’T GO WRONG from Lucinda Berry Hill, the message is the same… stay close to God – and PRAY without ceasing! Keep the faith and know in your heart that God will see you through. Trust Him for answers, and thank Him for each and every one. 🙂

No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it. – 1 Corinthians 10:13

Have you ever been tempted? Well, yeah… me too! Have you ever been in the midst of temptation and prayed for God, who we know is faithful, to provide the way of escape from that temptation? That is the prayer that keeps us from crossing the line from temptation to sin.

PRAYER IS A SHIELD FOR THE SOUL

It’s so important to keep this portion of Scripture tucked safely in your heart and keep it committed to memory. We are going to be tempted… no matter who we are or how close we think we are to God. Maybe the temptation is to think you are beyond being tempted… see what I’m saying? It is a slippery slope when you start thinking you are above being tempted. The enemy of your soul is on the prowl. You may not be as easy to tempt… but that sneaky snake devil is really good at what he does… which brings me back to God’s way of escape.

If you ask God to show you how to get away from temptation, He is faithful and will do it. Keep in mind that we do have free will and have freedom to cross the line into sin. If we decide to cross the line, it’s important to remember that sinning against God comes with a whole slew of consequences – and some of those consequences last for the rest of your life. Sin really will take you further than you ever wanted to go – not in a good way.

If you sin and if you find yourself dealing with the circumstances of your sin – don’t even think of blaming God for your situation. He would have shown you the EXIT… the way of escape… but you didn’t ask! Sin is fun and exciting for a season – but nothing built on sin will ever thrive in the long run. It will never be the best that God wanted you to have. You settled for less than God’s best… and you ended up unhappy and miserable. You’re stuck – but you can’t blame God for it – you can only blame yourself.

Okay – that was the bad news – but there is good news. If we do pray that God will show us His way of escape from temptation – before we cross the line and sin – He will! We can walk out the door and pray that God will give us what He wants for us – which is undoubtedly much better because it’s His best – not what we think we need at the moment.As long as we’re in these human bodies, there will be temptations from the enemy of our souls… and there will be trials now and again from God. Just remember that the temptations are there to bring out the worst in us – to show how low we can go. When God sends a trial it is meant to strengthen us and bring out the best in us – to show how high we can rise – or more to the point, how God can work in us, causing us to rise higher. 🙂

Yes I know there’s just one day left in this month – thank you. But this is important and can’t wait until next year – LOL!!!

Did you see the video that went viral – the one about Patti LaBelle’s sweet potato pie??? They could not keep them in stock at any Walmart in the U.S., which means that Ms. LaBelle will probably have a very Merry Christmas, I’m guessing. She will be rolling in even more dough for gift buying. Good for her!

The video got everyone wondering about this pie – and my husband and I wondered about it too. We were bored one day in Kansas City and decided to go into a Walmart. For fun, I looked on the display table to see if there might be one of these pies. I didn’t expect to see one – but there was ONE. Just one setting there! It looked lonely – so we rescued it. We took it back to our hotel room and ate it.

Did we look at the label? NOOOO… but I sort of wish we would have. Let’s just say it was not a healthy version of sweet potato pie. I rationalized – saying we will probably never do it again. I knew it tasted sweet, but the amount of calories from fat is what really got my attention. Yes – back on the bike I went! But – it was close to Thanksgiving and we were really so bored. It was a life experience, right?

In the weeks that followed, the pie became so popular that our local newspaper printed the recipe straight from her 1999 cookbook“LaBelle Cuisine.” As I always do, I perused the recipe, looking for ways to make it more diabetic-friendly. Patti LaBelle has diabetes, so I’m quite sure she not only understands, but would encourage it.

I made the pie for our Thanksgiving meal – and I’m very happy to report it was delicious! I used this recipe, but tweaked it with Splenda Brown and a ready-made pie crust.

Using a ready-made pie shell helped cut down on some of the fat grams, and substituting Splenda Brown Sugar for regular made the filling more diabetic-friendly. We live and learn as we go, don’t we? The substitutions we make in cooking go a long way in helping us stay more healthy in the long run.

I’m very happy to have run across one of the “real” pies though – it was yummy.

Am I crazy for writing a poem about a sweet potato pie? Um… yeah, just a little. Wink! 😉

No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it. – 1 Corinthians 10:13

I think we get mixed up sometimes when we talk about trials and temptations. In the spiritual realm, who is doing what??? Who’s on first, as it were… ???

A trial puts our faith and patience in action and yes, trials are from God to make us stronger. If we were never given trials, we would be soft and sappy and we’d never know just how much God means to us. Trials are not fun, but we know that God is faithful through them and that He will make a way for us.

This verse speaks of temptations – and those are not from God. The enemy of our soul brings temptations to us – it seems they are constantly in front of us. Temptations come in so many ways and sometimes we don’t even recognize them for what they are – because let’s face it – the enemy of our soul is good at what he does.

If you’re sitting down – GET UP!!! It’s time to do our exercises! This will help your physical health, but it will help your spiritual health too! 🙂

… and if the devil doesn’t like it, he can SIT ON A TACK… OUCH! Ah – I love that song, don’t you?

The devil is sneaky… to put it mildly. He offers solicitation to that which is evil, and hence Satan is called “the tempter” (Matthew 4:3). He tempted Christ in this way in the wilderness. That temptation was not internal, but by a real, active, subtle being. Why did Jesus have to endure that temptation? It was an act of obedience on His part. I’m thankful it was recorded in the Bible because it shows me that no matter what ol’ split-hoof puts before me, with God’s help, through my Savior, Jesus Christ, I can overcome it.

Temptation is common to all, as this Scripture reminds us – other passages mention it as well (Daniel 12:10, Psalm 66:10, Luke 22:31 & 40, Hebrews 11:17, James 1:12 & 1 Peter 1:7). Is it a big deal? Ya think??? YES – temptation is a big deal and it is common to all. We are human beings living on this earth and we will be tempted. We’re not in trouble for being tempted – we’re in trouble when we submit to it and subsequently sin against God.

Does God give us a pass on sin just because we are exposed to temptation every day? The Apostle Paul would say, “Heaven forbid!” No! God’s people are to be on their watch against temptations. We are told that if we resist the devil, he will flee. If we tell Satan to leave in the Name of Christ Jesus… he can’t stick around.

So while we will be tempted time and again… there is a way of escape in the Name of Christ! Speak HIS Name in the face of the enemy and He has to flee. In the Name of Jesus Christ, my Lord and Savior, I command you to leave now, devil! 🙂